Wild animal sighting you felt the luckiest to experience?

Being approached by a wild bison and living to tell the tale, lol. Bison got like, six feet away from us, but he was chill, he just wanted to pass by. I was terrified, but it was very cool.

Got up close to a timber rattlesnake. I was crouched down to do some work and it came up behind me and slithered right underneath me! She wasn't mean, she was just passing through to get to the sunny spot, since it was a chilly morning.

Kayaking in a lagoon with bottlenose dolphins swimming right alongside, popping out of the water to take a glance at you, being close enough to touch.

A pod of transient killer whales in Puget Sound.
 
The first two aren't really "lucky" since they're easy to see here, but they're rare.

Black-faced spoonbill. Although they're endangered, it's not difficult to see them here in Hong Kong since they migrate here in the winter (around 25% of the entire population apparently).

It's kind of similar with Yellow-crested cockatoos. They're not native, but a population has grown from released pets and can be seen very easily in the area around Hong Kong park. There are thought to be around 2,500 left in the wild, and Hong Kong has around 250 of them.

I was really lucky to see black rhino in the wild in South Africa. A mother and calf came out of the bushes and within just a few feet of our truck on an evening safari.

Other personal highlights which wouldn't really be "lucky" since they're not uncommon to see would include:

Elephants (African and Asian)
Lions
Hyena (can't remember which species)
Nile crocodile
Great white sharks
Chinese cobra
Burmese python
Malayan porcupine
Mugger crocodile
Sperm whale
Orca
Blue whale
 
I was hiking the headwaters of the Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was looking tor moose, but had no luck. So the hike was kind of a bummer, as I reached my turnaround point 4.5 miles out. It was the site of an abandoned town that predated the park. Suddenly I see a pine marten sprint across the path and look back at me, in the middle of day. I didn’t get a great photo of it, but got enough to confirm it. I did see my first moose later that day on my way back to the airport, so I guess it worked out.
 
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nczoofan said:
I was hiking the headwaters of the Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was looking tor moose, but had no luck. So the hike was kind of a bummer, as I reached my turnaround point 4.5 miles out. It was the site of an abandoned town that predated the park. Suddenly I see a pine marten sprint across the path and look back at me, in the middle of day. I didn’t get a great photo of it, but got enough to confirm it. I did see my first moose later that day on my way back to the airport, so I guess it worked out.
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The first time I went to RMNP, I didn't really see much. However, a few years later, I entered from the Granby side, and there were plenty of Moose and elk in the Kawuneeche valley. I even saw a martin duck into a bush, but I didn't see it that well so I can't be for sure.
 
Bisonblake said:
Haven't seen many animals in the wild but there are a few.

1. American bison, pronghorn, Dall sheep, prairie dogs, yellow-bellied marmot (South Dakota and Wyoming)
2. Bottlenose dolphin (Outer Banks, North Carolina)
3. American black bear (Smoky Mountains Gatlinburg, Tennessee)
4. Coyotes, red fox, sandhill cranes, snapping turtles (All over Michigan. not really rare, but think they are pretty cool to see)
5. Humpback whales and harbor seals (Boston Massachusetts, New England Aquarium whale watching)
6. Bald Eagles (Michigan, upper and lower peninsula)

Most of the trips I take are to cities or popular tourist destinations so I don't get to see many wild animals besides the deer in my backyard.
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Nice sightings although in South Dakota or Wyoming those would have been mountain goats you saw. Dall sheep aren't in the lower 48.
 
nczoofan said:
I was hiking the headwaters of the Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was looking tor moose, but had no luck. So the hike was kind of a bummer, as I reached my turnaround point 4.5 miles out. It was the site of an abandoned town that predated the park. Suddenly I see a pine marten sprint across the path and look back at me, in the middle of day. I didn’t get a great photo of it, but got enough to confirm it. I did see my first moose later that day on my way back to the airport, so I guess it worked out.
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I did that same hike and didn't see any wildlife either. I've been to RMNP twice in September and there were moose at Sprague Lake around sunrise both times.

full
 
elefante said:
Nice sightings although in South Dakota or Wyoming those would have been mountain goats you saw. Dall sheep aren't in the lower 48.
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It must've been bighorn sheep then. I wish I saw wild mountain goats, but the only ones I saw were at Bear Country USA.
 
elefante said:
Did any of you ever have the good fortune to see a rare species in the wild? Or another wild animal you felt lucky to see? For me, the one that stands out was seeing two whooping cranes in Montana. I was in an area where they are rarely spotted. My brother and I saw a pair fly overhead and they were unmistakably whooping cranes. Nobody else was around and most people didn't believe us when we mentioned it.
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Well, about 2 years ago I was hiking in the Groot Marico, South Africa and I was stalked by a Brown Heyena so that was pretty cool
 
One that comes to mind was traveling up on the Cape York track in far northern Queensland and saw a Northern Quoll running across the track in the front of the 4x4 at 3 in the morning with a small pray animal in its mouth and then to see the same thing again in less than an hour after the first also with a small pray animal in its mouth like a instant replay a second time!
 
Just now I got to see a flock of 7 wild turkeys roaming my backyard. 4 males and 3 females, there was one male who was HUGE. He was about 3.5 feet tall and was romping around the yard. I haven't seen turkeys in a few years and thought they'd all been eaten by the coyote I spotted last summer but I was wrong! They're back in greater numbers as well.
 
Westcoastperson said:
They may not go out of their way to attack humans but I would say if you are being stalked by any large carnivorous mammal you should probably worry.
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Yeah, I agree and I know that the spotted and striped hyenas will occasionally prey on humans (though mainly already deceased as carrion) but I don't think it is common at all for people to be fatally or seriously injured by brown hyenas.

I could be wrong though and perhaps there have been cases of fatal attacks.

Still waiting for a reply from @Nix but I suppose this could have been a young adult brown hyena which was just curious about his presence.
 
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Yeah, I agree and I know that the spotted and striped hyenas will occasionally prey on humans (though mainly already deceased as carrion) but I don't think it is common at all for people to be fatally or seriously injured by brown hyenas.

I could be wrong though and perhaps there have been cases of fatal attacks.

Still waiting for a reply from @Nix but I suppose this could have been a young adult brown hyena which was just curious about his presence.
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It was really amazing! She did stay a distance away (maybe like 4 metres) It was quite close to my house ( I live in Groot Marico) and the first thought that I had is "Don't eat my dog" Because I always walk with my dog, As a non-sensible animal obsessed freak I aproached her only to see a little whole in the cliff with a bunch of tiny paw prints around it then decided that she probably has cubs so I just went on with my hike but she followed for about another 300m then turned around, Wonderful experience though!
 
Nix said:
It was really amazing! She did stay a distance away (maybe like 4 metres) It was quite close to my house ( I live in Groot Marico) and the first thought that I had is "Don't eat my dog" Because I always walk with my dog, As a non-sensible animal obsessed freak I aproached her only to see a little whole in the cliff with a bunch of tiny paw prints around it then decided that she probably has cubs so I just went on with my hike but she followed for about another 300m then turned around, Wonderful experience though!
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Sounds like an incredible experience !

I would love to see a brown hyena in the wild and I can only imagine how awesome that day must have been.

Why do you think she was following you ?

Could it have been defensiveness towards her cubs ? curiosity ?
 
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